Xerox: Food Stamp Debit Cards Not Working In 17 States

(RTTNews) - People in Ohio and several other states have been unable to use their food stamp debit cards on Saturday, due to systems outage at vendor Xerox Corp. (XRX).

Xerox Corp. confirmed in a statement that its Electronic Benefits Transfer or EBT system experienced a temporary shutdown, during a routine test of its back-up systems Saturday morning.

It said that the system is now up and running, but beneficiaries in the 17 affected states continue to experience connectivity issues to access their benefits.

It noted that the disruption impacts EBT beneficiaries who rely on the system for SNAP and WIC. Technical staff is addressing the issue and expect the system to be restored soon.

Beneficiaries requiring access to their benefits can work with their local retailers who can activate an emergency voucher system where available, the company said.

"We appreciate our clients' patience while we work through this outage as quickly as possible," the company noted.